Kulintja Palyaringkuntjaku

Kulintja Palyaringkuntjaku

The Kulintja Palyaringkuntjaku project means ‘to get better thinking’. The project is one of the ways that the NPY Youth team provides support for young people – specifically for those facing both drug and alcohol problems and mental illness (often referred to as co-morbidity or dual diagnosis).

A worker is employed under the Kulintja Palyaringkuntjaku project – whose role is to provide specialist support to our Youth Development officers’ in SA, NT and WA in their case management of co-morbid clients.

Click here to learn more

Through the project, we offer on-going staff training and up-to-date, culturally specific targeted resources that ensure our staff are skilled and effective at targeting the complex problems facing clients with the combined issues of substance misuse and mental health disorders.

As well as organisational improvements, the project also lobbies and advocates for changes in the way services are delivered by other organisations and the government – to ensure that the combined issues of substance mis-use and mental illness are addressed adequately. Close collaboration and partnership with specialist agencies expert in suicide prevention, substance addiction and treatment, mental health and behavioural management is key to effective treatment of this issue.

NPYWC’s understanding of the needs of alcohol and drug users in our member communities is based on long community involvement. Substance misuse is endemic in the region and NPYWC works on various areas of need including:

supply reduction strategies in relation to petrol, alcohol and cannabis;

cross-border working groups to develop treatment service;

youth services to provide casework services to substance users and their families;

healthy and enjoyable diversionary activities;

Services to connect young people with employment and education opportunities.